Sand dispenser



Feb. 20, 1951 B. s. sNow 2,542,588

SAND DISPENSER Filed Sept. l, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Mrvge g5 Feb. zo,1951 B, s, 'SNOW .2,542,588

SAND DISPENSER Y Filedsept. 1, 1944 l '2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb.20,v 1951 UNITEDSTATES vPri-'rENTy OFFICE Barton vS.I Snow,vBatavia-Ill., ass'ignor to T'. W. Snow Construction Company, acorporation of Illinois Application September 1, 1944, Serial No.552,229

claims. (c1. 22a-181i This invention relates to apparatus for fillingvide a strong and rugged device for storing a quantity of sand andenabling it to be transported by gravity from the vstorage tank intoIsand pockets, which usually have small inlet doors on the sides of astreamlined locomotive.

A further Object of the invention is to provide an improved swiveljoint' through which sand may be conducted without danger of sandgetting into the working parts of the joint.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawing in which- Figure l is a vertical sectional view ofapparatus embodying the invention; Fig. 2, a plan view of the same; Fig.3,'a front elevational view of the apparatus; Fig. 4, a fragmentaryvertical sectional view of the swivel joint at the bottom of the storagetank; and Fig. 5, a fragmentary sectional view of the latching device toprevent the spout from turning except when released.

In the embodiment illustrated, a steel frame 6 is rigidly mounted on asuitable foundation 6a, and is provided at its upper end with a storagetank l, having at its top a baille box 8 of known construction. Ifdesired, a centrally disposed inlet pipe 9 can be provided, and the tankfilled by blowing the sand therethrough.

The discharge spout III may be provided at its l upper end with anoutwardly extending flange il, which ts into a flanged circular seat I2,which is secured to the bottom of the tank 1 by mans of bolts I3. Aguard member I4 is rigidly secured to the bottom of the tank by thebolts I3, and has an aperture surrounded by a skirt I5, which extendsdownwardly into the spout. The skirt prevents sand from working up intothe moving surfaces of the joint and causing wear and interference withoperation. 'I'he spout is braced by a horizontal strut I6 which abutsagainst an upright member I'I, which supports the upper elbow portion ofthe spout and is journalled at its lower end in a bracket I8, which ismounted on a main frame 6. The upright I'I is provided at its lower endwith a bearing plate I9, havingseveral apertures which may be engaged bya plunger 2|, which is urged upwardly into locking engagement by meansof a compression spring 22 bearing against a cross pin 23. The spring isenclosed by a suitable housing 2li secured to the bracket I8, and thelower end of the plunger is provided with a ring 25, to which Valsuitable cord 26 may be attached. Thus it will b e understood that whenthe deviceis not in use, the spout may be swung to either side of theframe and latched in a position where it will not interfere with theoperation of trains, or be accidentally blown by the wind into aposition over the track.

The lower end of the-spout I0 is provided with another swivel joint2l,.whose internal construction is substantially the same as that of theswivel joint at the tank. A flanged elbow member 28 connects a manuallyoperable sand valve 29 inv communication with the spout I0. The valve isprovided withv an operating lever 3B, to which is connected a cord 3I.The lower end of the valve 279 is provided with a downwardly exi tendingnipple 32, to which is connected a flexible hose 33, which may bedropped over either side ofa locomotive to communicate with side pocketsindicated diagrammatically at 34.

It is important that the hose 33 is of a proper V length so that thesand will flow downwardly at ansteep grade.Y It isi difficult to stop alocomotive at all exact, point buiige. ewivelioint 2.1 venables thenipple 32 to be positioned over the center of a locomotive at a numberof different positions, some of which are indicated by dotted lines inFig. 2.

y'Ihe foregoing detailed description is given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom, for some modications will be obvious to those skilled in theart.

I claim:

1. In a railway sand dispenser for readily distributing sand from astorage tank to any one of a plurality of spaced apart places ofdeposit, an elevated sand storage tank having an opening in its bottom,a frame for supporting said tank, a pair of apertured plates xed to thebottom of the tank with the apertures of the plates in registry with theopening in the tank bottom, one of said plates having an annularshouldered opening forming an enlargement of the aperture of this plate,a downwardly inclined tubular rigid spout having on its upper end anoutwardly extending annular flange seated in'said annular shoulderedopening for rotation therein, a guard member plate clamped between saidpair of apertured plates and having a central opening of smallerdiameter than the apertures of said pair of plates, the marginal edgesof the guard member around its opening being bent downwardly and fittingsnugly around the inner upper edge of the rigid spout to prevent accessof sand to the spout flange as it rotates in the annular shoulderedopening, and a valve-controlled flexible tube at the lower end of thespout for conducting the sand to desired locations.

2. In a railway sand dispenser for readily distributing sand from astorage tank to any one of a plurality of spaced apart places ofdeposit, an elevated sand storage tank having an opening in its bottom,a pair of plates fixed to the bottom of said tank and having openingsregistering with the opening in the tank bottom, a downwardly inclinedtubular rigid spout having its upper end mounted between said plates forswinging in a horizontal arc, a guard-member plate clamped between saidplates and having an opening of smaller diameter than that of theopenings in the plates, the marginal edges of the guard member aroundits opening being curved downwardly to snugly t around the inner edge ofthe upper end of the spout to prevent access of sand to the spacebetween said plates.

3. A railway sand dispenser as claimed in claim 2, including a frame forsupporting said tank, a bracket extending laterally from said frame andfixed thereto, a brace member iixed to the spout and having a horizontaland a vertical member, the horizontal member being xed to the verticalmember at the bracket and jointly rotatable on the bracket whereby thespout may be swung in a horizontal arc eccentrically o the tank,releasable locking means on said bracket having a spring pressedvertical movable pin, the juncture of the horizontal and verticalmembers of the brace member having a horizontal plate swingably slidableon the bracket and formed with apertures for selectively receiving saidpin, whereby the spout may be locked in various positions in saidhorizontal arc.

4. A railway sand dispenser comprising: a main frame provided with astorage tank for sand; an outwardly extending bracket xed to said framebeneath said tank providing a bearing; an inclined rigid tubular spoutcommunicating with the interior of the tank and swivelly connected tothe bottom of said tank, said spout having a supporting brace journalledin said bearing; latching means on said bracket and vertically movablefor preventing turning of said spout; a manually controlled valve membercommunieating with the lower end of said spout, and a depending iiexiblehose from said valve member; a metallic guard member in the upper end ofsaid spout for preventing access of sand to the swivel connection of thespout with the tank; and a horizontal plate on the bottom of saidsupporting brace rotatably slidable on the bracket and coacting withsaid latching means.

5. In a railway sand dispenser for readily dispensing sand from astorage tank to any one of a plurality of spaced apart places ofdeposit, a frame, a sand storage tank on said frame, a supporting membersecured to the bottom of said tank, and having an upper annulus and adetachable lower annulus alording a hollow circular flanged seat, atubular spout member provided with an outwardly extending flange to fitinto said seat, a fixed guard member having a flange gripped between theupper annulus and the lower annulus and having a tubular socketextending into' said spout, and a flexible hose swivelly connected tothe lower end of the spout member for distributing sand to selectiveplaces.

BARTON S. SNOW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

